Synchronicity: 1983/84

Caught By The Police!

They're only two days into their 1983 American tour, yet the three members of the Police lead vocalist/bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland already are attracting an audience from as far away as Tennessee and Florida. After witnessing their performance at the Checkerdome on Sunday, it's easy to see why people would travel long distances to attend one of their concerts.

The group opened with the title cut from their latest album, 'Synchronicity'. The upbeat number was accentuated by yellow, red and blue lighting designed to correspond to the colour scheme of the album cover.

The Police performed almost the entire album, and the new material was as enthusiastically received by the sell-out crowd as the older favourites.

'Wrapped Around Your Finger' and 'King Of Pain' demonstrated Sting's unique talents as a singer and songwriter. And his performance of the beautiful mid-tempo 'Tea In The Sahara' was met with screams of delight from the largely female audience.

During 'Walking In Your Footsteps', the mood was set with smoky special effects. But more often than not, the musicians themselves captivated the crowd.

Part of what made this show so enjoyable was Sting's gregarious stage personality. If he wasn't dancing, he was talking to the people in the crowd and involving them in almost every number. The singalongs started early with 'Message In A Bottle' and continued through 'Fill It Up', 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' and a host of other good-time songs that lent themselves perfectly to 19,000 out-of-tune voices.

When the song called for one lone voice, Sting's booming tenor delivered the goods sometimes a cappella.

After the pretty, light-hearted songs, the Police changed the mood with several politically motivated pieces, including 'Invisible Sun' and 'One World'. During 'Invisible Sun', scenes of Northern Ireland were displayed on the video screen suspended above the stage. But for most of the evening, the feeling was carefree, and the screen was used to bring what was happening on stage closer to the audience in the back rows.

After taking a three-minute breather, the group returned to close the show with some of its most commercial tunes. The encores spanned the history of the band, from 'Roxanne', the group's first success in the United States, to the current hit single, 'Every Breath You Take'.

From the jazz-flavoured 'Purely By the Numbers' to the reggae feel of 'Can't Stand Losing You' to the pure pop accessibility of 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', the Police did it all and did it well.

The party atmosphere continued non-stop throughout the performance with the audience dancing in the aisles, clapping and singing along. After the show, the. good humour and energy spilled over into the parking lots, making the normally frustrating task of navigating through traffic seem less tedious.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts can't seem to lose the Police - they opened for the band last year as well. They made a valiant attempt to keep the crowd's attention through a brief set of tunes like 'Bad Reputation' and 'I Love Rock and Roll'. But some rather bland covers of vintage 'Everyday People' and 'Tossin' and Turnin' would have been better left unsung. Jett alternately cajoled and bullied the crowd into responding. Although she drew a fair amount of applause, she seemed unsatisfied. So were the majority of the audience; they wanted to see the Police.

(c) St Louis Post-Dispatch by Louise King